Up to 15,000 people marched in Ennis, Co Clare yesterday in protest at the implications of the Hanly Report for the hospital in the town.
The report recommends a downgrading of the A&E service at Ennis General, with services transferred to Limerick's Mid-Western Regional Hospital.
Instead, Ennis General would be reclassified a local hospital and "provide minor and illness injury units".Yesterday's march was also attended by a group from Nenagh in Co Tipperary who are protesting over similar implications for Nenagh General Hospital.